The Fake Heiress Called Me Sister

I heard that the real heiress, lost for many years, had been found and brought home.

I immediately flew back to the country.

The car had barely stopped when she rushed over and grabbed my hand with great enthusiasm.

So you're my sister? Your skin is so nice. I can tell you've never suffered, unlike meI've endured every hardship imaginable in the countryside.

I didn't quite understand what was happening.

Suddenly, she grabbed my hand and yanked it toward herself, then fell to the ground. She cried out, pointing at me:

"You... why did you push me? If you don't welcome me, I'll leave right now. I won't stay here and be an eyesore to you..."

"Just please don't tell Mom and Dad. I don't want to make things difficult for them. I don't want this family to become unhappy because of me."

As she spoke, she curled up on the ground, crying so hard her whole body shook.

People around us all turned to stare.

I was completely stunned.

What sister? I'm her mother!

"Dear sister, please don't be angry..."

"I... I know I was wrong... I shouldn't be here bothering you..."

In front of me, Serena was still lying on the ground, looking like she'd suffered the greatest injustice in the world.

The people around rushed to help her up, their eyes blazing with anger as they glared at me.

"You must be Vivian? The fake heiress the Sullivan family adopted?"

"What gives you the right to push Serena? A fake heiress bullying the real daughterwhere do you get the nerve?"

"Fake is fake, after all. All she knows is how to be jealous!"

The crowd's comments swirled around me, their eyes filled with contempt.

"Please don't talk about my sister that way..."

Serena held back her sobs and stumbled toward me, her hands gripping my wrists tightly.

"It's okay. If you want to hit me, hit me. If you want to yell at me, yell at me. I got used to it growing up in the orphanage anyway..."

"It's just..."

She paused, tears streaming down her face.

"Could you please let me see Mom just once? I grew up in an orphanage. I don't even know what my mother looks like..."

The crowd erupted at her words.

"Serena is so pitiful! She's the Sullivan family's real daughter, but she was abandoned in an orphanage to suffer!"

"Vivian, you've been taking her place all these years, and now you won't even let her see her mother? Are you even human?!"

I looked at everyone, my brows furrowing.

When did I ever stop her from seeing her mother?

She just didn't recognize meI AM her real mother.

Over the years, due to the special nature of my work, I never appeared at any public events. Almost no one had seen me.

Plus, I'd always taken good care of myself and looked quite young for my age.

But I never imagined I'd be mistaken for my adopted daughter, Vivian.

"I'm begging you..."

Serena suddenly dropped to her knees in front of me, looking up at me with tear-filled eyes:

"Once I see Mom, I'll leave immediately. I'll never appear in front of you again... Please, I just want to see my mother once..."

I looked down at her, my emotions a tangled mess.

Last week, I'd gone on a secret mission.

It wasn't until I came out of the lab today that I learned my daughter had been found. I'd rushed back immediately.

The whole way, I'd imagined our reunion, thinking about what I would say.

But I'd calculated everything except thisthat the first thing my biological daughter would do upon seeing me was frame me.

"Stand up first." I bent down to help her. "Serena, actually I'm not"

Before I could finish my sentence.

Suddenly.

"What are you doing?!"

An furious voice came from behind me.

"Serena, you don't need to be afraid of her."

Declan walked over and helped her up, looking at me coldly.

"You must be Vivian? Let me tell you somethingSerena is my girlfriend. It's not your place to bully her, you fraud!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd exploded.

"Girlfriend? Mr. Reed is together with Serena?"

"But Mr. Reed and Vivian have an engagement! Is he publicly breaking it off? That's such a slap in the face!"

"So what if he breaks it off? Serena is the real heiress. What is Vivian anyway?"

"This Vivian must be so humiliated. If it were me, I'd find a hole to crawl into."

Listening to the surrounding chatter, my frown deepened.

Declan was the only son of the Reed family and the marriage candidate I'd personally selected for Vivian.

I'd planned to have the two children meet after I finished with my current work.

I never expected him to suddenly show up here, much less that he'd be holding Serena and calling her his girlfriend.

"Vivian, since you're here today, let me make this clear."

Declan stared at me, holding Serena tightly. "I fell in love with Serena at first sight. She's the one I'm going to marry."

"As for you, my parents forced you on me. I have no interest in someone who throws herself at me."

The crowd burst into laughter.

I clenched my fists, a cold laugh escaping my chest.

This marriage alliance was originally begged for by his parents.

The Reed family's capital chain had broken a few years ago, and they nearly went bankrupt. I'd helped them out for old times' sake.

If anyone was "throwing themselves" at anyone, it was the Reeds desperately clinging to us.

"Declan, don't say that."

Serena tugged at his clothes and looked up at me. "Vivian, please don't be angry. Declan just can't stand to see me wronged."

As she spoke, smugness and triumph flashed in her eyes.

I stared at that face, my heart feeling like it was being squeezed by a giant hand.

Serena had wandered off and gotten lost on her own. I'd searched for her for more than ten years.

I'd hoped and waited, finally waiting for her to come home.

But I never imagined... she'd become this kind of person.

"Vivian, I know you must like me and want to marry me." Declan lifted his chin arrogantly. "But I'm not interested in you. You should just give up."

"Who says I like you?"

I finally couldn't hold back a light laugh, looking up at him. "Declan, I'm already married. How could I possibly want to marry you?"

The air fell silent for a moment.

Declan froze, then burst out laughing as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Married? Vivian, what are you pretending for? How could you possibly be married? Are you so obsessed with me that you're using this pathetic reverse psychology? I already told youI'm not interested in you."

Listening to his words, I found the situation increasingly absurd.

I'd been willing to let him be with Vivian because I'd met him once at a party and thought he seemed dignified and worthy of my daughter.

I never imagined that in private, he was such an arrogant, conceited fool.

"Vivian, I'm sorry..."

"But Declan and I truly love each other. You've already taken everything that should have been mine all these years."

"Just let me have Declan!"

As Serena spoke, tears streamed down her face. She buried herself in Declan's arms, trembling.

Declan held her tighter, his eyes looking at me as if he wanted to tear me apart.

I stared at her, truly at a loss for words.

I'd searched for her for seventeen years, afraid she was suffering, afraid she was being bullied, afraid she wasn't living well.

Yet here she wasperforming in public, slandering her own mother, stealing her sister's fianc.

What made it even more ridiculous was that the man she was stealing happened to be someone like Declan.

"Vivian, I'm begging you!"

Seeing that I hadn't responded, Serena cried out desperately. "You can't take Declan away from me!"

"You've already... already secretly been with another man..."

Serena's words cut off abruptly. She covered her mouth, acting as if she'd said something she shouldn't have.

"Another man? What other man?"

Declan's expression changed. "Serena, what do you know? Explain yourself clearly."

"I..."

Serena looked at him with some difficulty, then suddenly turned and bowed to me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it... I just didn't want Declan to be deceived..."

With that, she pulled out her phone and held up a photo for everyone to see.

In it, I was embracing a man.

My face was crystal clear.

But the man only showed a blurry profile, impossible to see clearly.

"Holy crap! So Vivian has a boyfriend too? What does that make her? Is she betraying Mr. Reed?"

"Who's that guy? He looks kind of familiar."

"Whoever he is, he doesn't look young, does he? Tsk tsk, I can't believe Vivian would pass up Mr. Reed to find some old man. That's some taste!"

Listening to the crowd's discussion, Declan's face grew darker and darker.

The next second, he suddenly rushed over and grabbed my hand, his eyes blazing.

"Vivian, how dare you betray me!"

I was speechless at the absurdity of his words.

Forget the fact that I wasn't Vivian at all.

Even if I were, and Vivian really had found a boyfriend, what business was it of his?

The engagement hadn't been formally established, and they'd never even met.

He could be intimate with Serena and publicly announce their relationship, but Vivian had to remain pure for him? What kind of logic was that?

"Actually..."

Seeing the situation, Serena hesitantly spoke two more words.

She shot me a provocative glance, then sighed.

"Vivian... it's not just this one old man you've been involved with, is it? My friends also photographed you frequently going in and out of nightclubs, and the men around you were..."

She stopped her voice at just the right moment and looked at me persuasively:

"Vivian, women should have some self-respect. Mixing with so many men like that is really..."

Everyone's eyes turned to me in unison.

"I never would have thought that this Vivian was that kind of person."

"She's been passed around so much she's basically trash, right? So disgusting."

"What would a fraud like her know about shame? She should just get out of the Sullivan family!"

The insults around me grew more vicious, and the eyes assessing me became increasingly lecherous.

I stood in place, my gaze fixed on Serena.

I truly never imagined that my own daughter would dare to spread sexual rumors about me!

"Vivian, the past is the past. I'll definitely help keep your secret."

"I absolutely won't let Mom and Dad know about this. Don't worry."

As she spoke, she suddenly came over again, trying to hold my hand intimately.

A bone-chilling cold surged in my heart. I stepped back two paces and instinctively shook her off gently.

"Ahh!"

Serena suddenly screamed and fell backward, her whole body crashing hard to the ground. She even rolled twice before stopping.

"Serena?! What happened? Who dared to push you?!"

Hurried footsteps approached from far to near.

The next second, a familiar figure rushed into the crowd and lifted Serena from the ground.

I looked over at the sound and saw an incredibly familiar face.

It was the man from the photo Serena had just used to slander me.

My husband of twenty years. Her father.

Marcus Sullivan.

"Dad!"

Serena threw herself into Marcus's arms, tears streaming down her face.

"I'm fine, Dad. Please don't blame my sister..."

Declan immediately stepped forward righteously.

"Serena, you're too kind. Vivian bullied you like that, why are you still speaking up for her?"

Then he turned to Marcus with an indignant expression.

"Mr. Sullivan, today is the reunion party you're throwing for Serena."

"But look how much she's suffered because of Vivian! You must stand up for Serena!"

Marcus was slightly stunned, seemingly not reacting. "Vivian?"

"Yes, your adopted daughter!"

Declan's face showed disgust as he sighed deeply.

"The moment she came back today, she started bullying Serena. She's so arrogant and domineering. Serena is your biological daughter. You can't let her suffer for nothing."

Marcus's frown deepened, but he still didn't speak.

Serena looked up at him secretly, then suddenly started sobbing, looking like she was holding back.

"Declan, please stop talking... It's okay if I suffer a little... If Vivian doesn't like me, it must be because I did something wrong..."

"Dad, please don't blame my sister or put yourself in a difficult position. At worst, I'll just leave..."

As she spoke, her eyes grew redder and redder.

The people around couldn't help but speak up.

"Mr. Sullivan, you can't be so biased! Serena is your biological daughter!"

"Your biological daughter grew up in an orphanage, so pitiful. If you continue to be biased, what will happen to her?"

"Exactly! You need to be fair. You can't drive away your real daughter for the sake of a fake heiress!"

Listening to the chaotic advice from all around, Marcus's frown grew tighter.

He turned to look at the pitiful Serena, his voice tinged with helplessness:

"Serena, don't talk about leaving. If your sister did something wrong, I definitely won't be biased. It's just..."

"Just what?"

Serena interrupted him, even more aggrieved.

"Just that Dad still prefers Vivian and doesn't want to blame her, right? It's okay, I understand... After all, she's been with you for so many years, and I'm just a stranger who suddenly appeared..."

Seeing that she was about to burst into tears again, Marcus helplessly rubbed his temples.

"No, I'm not trying to be biased. It's just that your sister is still in Africa today. How could she possibly be here bullying you?"

The air instantly fell silent.

Serena's tears stopped mid-flow, her face showing confusion.

The people around also froze, looking at each other.

"What do you mean? Isn't Vivian right here?"

Serena suddenly snapped back to reality, pointing at me with a sharply raised voice:

"Then who is she? Dad, you can't just make things up to protect my sister!"

The people around echoed her sentiment.

"Yes, Mr. Sullivan, this is too heartbreaking!"

"You only love your adopted daughter and completely ignore your biological daughter's grievances?"

"Exactly! Mr. Sullivan, you're protecting a fraud like thiswhat is Serena supposed to think? What are we supposed to think?"

Amid the clamor.

Marcus frowned, looking puzzled as he pushed through the crowd.

Serena watched him walk toward me step by step, a flash of triumph crossing her eyes as she said sweetly:

"Dad, I really don't blame Vivian... As long as she's willing to apologize to me, I'll let this go."

Hearing this, people around looked at Serena with admiration and pity.

"Serena is so understanding!"

"Vivian, did you hear that? Serena only wants an apology!"

"Apologize to Serena right now, or Mr. Sullivan definitely won't let you off easily!"

Before the crowd's voices died down.

Marcus finally pushed past the last person and stood in front of me.

He stared at me blankly, his brow gradually smoothing out.

The next second, he blurted out:

"She's my wife! What's going on here?"